Protesters in Amritsar were detained by the police on Saturday as a preventive measure on the 30th anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Decrying the move, a protester, Jagdish Kaur, said the purpose is to spread the message that they haven't got justice.
"We wanted to observe this day as a Black Day today after 30 years in a peaceful manner to give the message that we haven't got justice. But what kind of justice is this that they picked up people and put them in police vans and arrested them. We wanted all religions and the political parties to support our silent protest," said Kaur.
"The government is really the culprit and is to be blamed. They have kept our hopes alive with fake promises. And today we were protesting in a peaceful manner but were arrested for which the government is also to be blamed," she added.
Five members of Kaur's family, including her husband, son, and three brothers were killed in the massacre.
"From my family five were killed; my husband, elder son, three of my brothers; even though my husband was in the army. My brothers were contractors. My dad was a freedom fighter. And they have arrested us today because we wanted to raise our voice in a peaceful manner," said Kaur.
In an attempt to reach out to the riot victims, the Centre had on Thursday announced an additional compensation of Rs. 5 lakh each to the next of kin of people who died in the massacre. The secretary of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Roop Singh had welcomed the decision and hoped that punishment would be awarded to the culprits.
More From This Section
But Manjot Singh, another victim of the riots, said the money might provide some relief but cannot compensate for the lives lost.
"It has been announced that we will receive compensation; we are happy and welcome government's decision. But the incident will remain in our memory until the accused are punished," he said.
Meanwhile, a state wide shutdown was called in Punjab.
"A shutdown has been called. Our main demand is to seek harsh punishment from state authorities against Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler who are responsible for the killing of thousands of people in 1984," said Dilbagh Singh, a protester from Ludhiana.
